Frank G. Ferri (born February 2, 1954) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

, representing the 22nd district from October 24, 2007 until January 6, 2015. A Rhode Island native, Ferri grew up in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

before earning a degree in business from Bryant University. His district is located in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

and includes the neighborhoods of Warwick Neck and Oakland Beach.

Elections

Ferri won the Democratic primary election held on October 24, 2007 to succeed Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt (D-Warwick), who had stepped down halfway through his eighth two-year term. Ferri won 57% of the vote in the three-way primary election, defeating party-endorsed candidate Edgar Ladouceur and Olin Thompson. In the general election held on November 27, 2007, he faced

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Jonathan Wheeler and independent Carlo Pisaturo, receiving 53% of the vote to Wheeler's 33% and Pisaturo's 14%. He was sworn-in on December 19, 2007. He ran for re-election in 2008 and 2010, prevailing on each occasion. In 2014, Ferri retired from the House of Representatives and ran for election to the office of

Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gove ...

, but he did not win the Democratic nomination.

Personal life

He has been a Warwick resident since 1985 and owns the Town Hall Lanes bowling alley. The former chair of Marriage Equality RI, he is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. Along with Reps. Gordon D. Fox (D-Providence) and

Deb Ruggiero Deborah L. "Deb" Ruggiero (born April 2, 1958) is an American radio personality and politician from Jamestown, Rhode Island. A Democrat, she serves in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing the 74th district, which contains all ...

(D-Jamestown), and Sen.

Donna Nesselbush Donna M. Nesselbush (born August 9, 1962) is an American lawyer, judge and politician from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. A Democrat, she served in the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 15th district. She took office on January 4, 2011 and did not ...

(D-Pawtucket), he served as one of four openly LGBT members of the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower house, lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 re ...

. His campaigns have won the support of the

Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory F ...

. In 2010, Ferri complete
Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government
program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as
David BohnettLGBTQ Victory Institute
Leadership Fellow.

References

External links

Rhode Island House - Representative Frank Ferri
official RI House website
Profile
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives 1954 births Living people Gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Rhode Island Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-politician-stub